Danvers, Santuary Medicinals enter agreement for dispensary in town

Tuesday

Jul 11, 2017 at 4:31 PMJul 11, 2017 at 4:39 PM

Mary Byrne

A New Hampshire-based medical marijuana company is another step closer to opening a dispensary in Danvers.

Sanctuary Medicinals now holds both a letter of non-opposition and a signed host agreement with the town, two key items in moving forward with the state Department of Public Health licensing process. In the agreement, the company agrees to pay the town each year a predetermined sum of money, in addition to a percentage of its gross sales revenue.

"We're very excited to become a contributor to the Danvers community," said CEO Jason Sidman. "[Town Manager] Steve Bartha and the rest of the administration staff have been excellent to work with and welcoming to the town, and we look forward to getting our dispensary operational."

The company still needs a license through the state Department of Public Health, Bartha said.

The signed agreement follows a Board of Selectmen meeting last month, in which town officials offered positive feedback to the medical marijuana company. No formal vote was taken at the June 20 meeting, but the selectmen's comments led Bartha to offer the company a letter of non-opposition.

"Although I have the authority to issue a letter, this is an industry that is pretty politically charged," Bartha said. "So, I wanted to give the Board of Selectmen an opportunity to hear from these folks."

Bartha said based on the board's feedback and the technical review from various town departments, there was no reason to deny or not recommend the company for moving forward with the state DPH licensing process.

In the agreement, the company agrees to pay the town a sum of $100,000 in its first year of operation. This sum includes the $50,000 issuance of the Department of Public Health Provisional License and $50,000 when the dispensary opens.

It also stipulates that the company will pay the town 1.5 percent of gross sales revenue during its first year of operation.

In the company's second year of operation, the company agrees to pay the town four payments in the sum of $150,000, as well as 2 percent of the year's gross sales revenue.

In the third year, and every year after that, the company agrees to pay, on a quarterly basis, 3 percent of the year's gross sales revenue.

Bartha explained money collected through these payments would function as a general revenue, allowing the town to offset costs of providing the company various municipal services.

The agreement also states the company will make an effort to hire qualified employees who are Danvers residents.

Bartha had previously said that as part of the host agreement, the company agreed to not entertain selling recreational marijuana, even if the state fails to meet its statutory deadlines for establishing regulations.

Sanctuary Medicinals recently closed on a cultivation site in Littleton, Mass., one of the locations the company plans to use to supply the Danvers dispensary, Sidman said. The company currently holds a Provisional Certificate of Registration for the site while it waits to receive a final certificate from the state.

The company also has plans for a site in Gardner, Mass, which also holds a Provisional Certificate of Registration.

The New Hampshire-based company is the fourth organization to approach the town for a letter since a 2014 Town Meeting approved a registered medical marijuana overlay zones in Cherry Hill Industrial Park and Danvers Industrial Park. Although no dispensaries have opened, Sanctuary Medicinals is the third company to receive a letter.

If all goes as planned, Sidman said the company anticipates an opening in Quarter 1 of 2018.